2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Implications for the function of histone demethylase PHF2 in malignant cancer cell

Research Project

Project/Area Number	23701038
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Carcinogenesis
Research Institution	Takasaki University of Health and Welfare
Principal Investigator	OKAMOTO Kengo 高崎健康福祉大学, 薬学部, 講師 (60437754)
Project Period (FY)	2011 – 2012
Keywords	PHF2 / JmjC / エピジェネティクス
Research Abstract	The rate-limiting step in ribosome biogenesis is the transcription of ribosomal RNA, which is controlled by environmental conditions. Regulation of cell growth ultimately depends on the control of ribosome synthesis. One key component of chromatin structures in biological regulation is the methylation of lysine residues in histone proteins, the JmjC domain-containing enzymes can catalyze histone demethylation. The jmjC enzyme PHF2 is localized in nucleoli, but its function is unclear. Here, I demonstrate that PHF2 bound to the rDNA promoter, and PHF2 contribute to pre-rRNA synthesis. Moreover, microarray analyses revealed that more than 2000 gene had altered expression in a PHF2 knockdown cells. These results suggest that PHF2 functions as a positive regulator of ribosome biogenesis, and is essential for cell proliferation.